So, I woke up today to find that there is no specific destination / itinerary for today and tomorrow. I could have gone on an excursion tour outside of Budapest but given the condition of my foot, I thought I'm better off just wandering around the town and enjoy the sights, people, atmosphere, weather... just relax and wander. That's what I do best ... wandering mindlessly. Surfed on the internet after breakfast to see if I've missed out any places. I decided to visit the Central Market, only to find that it's closed on Sunday. Bummer... ok so I'm officially wandering in the Pest town and I found this stretch of Vaci utca that I've missed out yesterday. I preferred this stretch better as it's slightly more laid back but then again it might be due to the early hours so the tourists haven't hit the cafes just yet.
Then I walked across the Liberty Bridge and walked up St. Gellert Hill. After that, took the tram to Mokszva Ter. From there I took bus no. 10 up to the Castle Hill. Yeap this is another way going up the hill if you prefer not to walk up the hill. I head straight to the Ruszwurm Cukraszda (Confectionery) this time to avoid the lunch crowd. I'm overwhelmed with the choices of cakes and pastries offered and had a tough time choosing what to order. In the end, I ordered 2 pieces of cakes, a Tirol Strudel , a Esterházy cake and a cup of Cappucino.
The Esterházy cake comes from Austria, inspired or named by one of the famous Esterházy dukes. Originally, the pastry layers were made of almond, whipped egg white and sugar. The cream was made of cooked egg cream with vanilla, and the top was iced with the well-known fondant composition. Today everybody uses walnuts instead of almonds and this is how the cake became popular worldwide. The Tirol strudel is the most popular pastry made of buttered dough. The Tirol strudel can be filled with sour cherry, cottage cheese, poppy seeds and apple. Again without knowing what is what, I got the cottage cheese strudel. Both the cakes and strudel taste so good, the butter dough is really nice and crispy and the walnut layered with cream just melts in your mouth. I find the top is a little too sweet to my taste, but that can be fixed by sipping my cappuccino.
After the cakes, I walk over to the Fisherman's Bastion again and took more photos. Later, I went to the Margerat Island. It is a 2.5 km long island (0.965 km² in area) in the middle of the Danube, mostly covered by landscape parks and is a popular recreational area. It's a Sunday and the island is crowded with the locals. Families, friends, lovers, joggers, all jammed the island to unwind, to play, to 'pak tor', to exercise... At the very end there was a huge open field with some events going on. There were live bands singing on stage and tents at the side with games and exibitions / product promoting. The locals laid out their mat, had picnic, sun bathing, parents played with their kids... everybody just enjoying the sun, the weather, the relaxation...
I bought an ice-cream and sat in the park for a while. Then I went to the West End Shopping Mall near the Nyugati Ter. It's a big and modern shopping mall. I found a hawker center in the mall. For dinner, I had 'Merifele Budapest' from the Grill Land stall. I think it's a mixture of the famous Budapest food - paprika chicken, duck liver, fries, and some veggies. Taste really good. Tonight, I got a new roomie, an Australian girl currently studying in Vienna.
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